Burial casket



Dec. 25, 1956 J. BOURGRAF BURIAL CASKET Filed March 25, 1954 INVENTOR. GEO/P6521 BouRGRAF BY nited States Patent BURIAL CASKET George J. Bourgraf, Mack, Ohio Application March 25, 1954, Serial No. 418,563

1 Claim. (Cl. 27-6) This invention relates to a burial casket.

An object of this invention is to provide a burial casket having a base on which the corpse lies and a cover or closure cap which, when secured to the base, converts the base into a burial vault.

A further object of this invention is to provide a casket having a base and a removable cap and a decorative blanket for the base which covers all exposed portions of the casket base and forms a bed for the corpse when on display and which can be folded over the corpse when the cap is placed on and secured to the base.

A further object of this invention is to provide a burial casket particularly adapted for display and burial of an infant corpse.

A further object of this invention is to provide a casket comprising a cap and a base provided with a trough-like or crib section for receiving the corpse and which is provided with a blanket having an elastic border which may be folded outwardly over the trough-like section and the perimeter of the base to form a bed for the corpse and to decorate the casket as well when used for displaying an infant corpse and for covering the corpse when the cap is closed on the base.

A further object of this invention is to provide a sealing arrangement for a casket of this sort in which a gasket carried by the cover or cap engages the marginal edge of the base of the casket to form a seal between the cap and the base.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will in part be apparent and will in part be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, from the following detailed description, and the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a casket constructed in accordance with an embodiment of this invention with a closure cap in place thereon;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the lower or display portion of the casket with a decorative blanket in position thereon;

Fig. 3 is a view in transverse section of the lower portion of the casket and of the blanket illustrated in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view in transverse section of the casket illustrated in Fig. 1 showing the blanket folded inside of the casket; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of one end of the lower portion of the casket with the blanket removed.

In the following detailed description and the drawing, like reference characters indicate like parts.

In Fig. 1 a casket is shown having a relatively flat rectangular base or slab and a closure cap or cover 11. The base supports a pair of side wall or plate members 13 and 14 which form a trough-like member or crib open at both ends, for a corpse. The side walls 13 and 14 are parallel to and spaced inwardly of the longer sides of the base and terminate short of the ends thereof, so that the upper face of the base has a marginal ledge on 2,775,021 Patented Dec. 25, 1 956 which the cap or cover 11 may rest when the casket is closed.

A decorative blanket 16 is placed on the base and is of such dimensions that it 'covers the portion of the base between the side walls 13 and 14. The margin of the blanket may be provided with an elastic border 17 which, when the blanket is folded outwardly over the trough-like member and the base member 10, contracts under the four corners of the base and holds the blanket neatly in place, a illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. Thus, the blanket serves not only as a decorative bedding for the crib, but also as a decorative cover for the entire base of the casket when the casket is occupied by a corpse on display. As shown, the length of the edge of the blanket is such that the edge of the blanket firmly grips the edges of the base.

The crib portion of the casket may be provided with a pillow 18 which can be positioned at either end thereof.

When the casket is to be closed, the margin of the blanket is removed from under the four corners of the base 10 and folded into the crib portion of the casket and over the corpse (not shown). The cover or cap 11 is then placed over the crib portion of the base, with the marginal edges of the cap at the edges of the base.

A marginal gasket 21 may be secured to either the base or the cap (it being secured to the cap, as shown in the drawings) for sealing the casket when the cap is closed. The cap or cover 11 is provided with inwardly extending flanges 22 at the ends and the sides thereof, on which the gasket 21 seats. When the cover is placed in closed position, as indicated in Fig. 1, the cover is secured to the base by means of catches or latches 23 of the snap toggle type, which, when secured, pull the cover and the gasket down tightly on the base 10. The gasket is thus compressed and an effective seal provided. Only one catch 23 is shown. Another similar catch is mounted on the other end of the cover so that the catches draw both ends of the cover firmly down upon the base to compress the entire gasket and form a seal between the cover and the base.

As shown in Fig. 4, the blanket 17 may be provided with a mattress portion 27 which fits between the side wall members 13 and 14 and provides a soft central portion for receiving the corpse.

The casket illustrated in the drawing and described above is particularly adapted for use in the display and burial of infant corpses but the casket may be made in various sizes for use with larger corpses. The burial casket illustrated in the drawing and described above is subject to structural modification without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A burial casket which comprises an elongated substantially rectangular base plate, downturned supporting walls along the sides of the base plate to support the base plate above a supporting surface, an upwardly extending side plate attached to the base plate parallel to and spaced inwardly of each of the lengthwise sides of the base plate, there being a corpse-receiving space between the side plates, the side plates being of substantially equal height and terminating short of the ends of the base plates, the portion of the upper face of the base plate outboard of the side plates being unobstructed, said unobstructed portion extending completely around the upper face of the base plate, a hollow cover for the base plate, said hollow cover comprising a top portion, and side and end walls for encasing the corpse-receiving space, inwardly projecting flanges on the side and end walls for overlying the unobstructed portion of the base plate outboard of the side plates, said side walls extending below the flanges and downwardly along the opposite sides of the base plate, a resilient gasket attached to the under side of the flanges, the flanges and gasket overlying said unobstructed portion of the base plate, and latches linking the end walls of the cover with the ends of the base plate to draw the cover downwardly on the base plate, the gasket being compressed between the flanges and said unobstructed portion of the base plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS McCormick et al. Mar. 23, Greive Aug. 3, Davoran Oct. 23, Glassner Oct. 20, 

